Last week, I saw some of the most evocative photographs- Sachin Tendulkar touching the feet of Achrekar "sir" on the occasion of Guru Purnima. While Sachin's prowess on the Cricketing field is legendary, what is impressive is that Sachin has played hardly a false stroke outside it too. He chose the occasion of Guru Purnima to visit his childhood Cricket teacher and take his blessings. Achrekar sir and Sachin, typify the best in a teacher-student relationship. Each embellished the other- Achrekar sir received the Dronacharya award. Sachin, his special student...scaled every peak on the Cricketing horizon. A Drona couldn't have asked for more from Arjuna.
It is now well documented how Sachin was Achrekar sir's favorite student. If Sachin got out early in one match at Azad Maidan, Achrekar sir personally took him on his bike to Cross Maidan.... to be part of another match so that Sachin could bat one more time.
My story actually begins here....... Thirty-two years ago....exactly when the above scenes were unfolding, another Drona...Tamhane "sir" was grooming another Arjuna...Dipak...much the same way.
Tamhane "sir" was Don Bosco's Cricket coach. He didn't look like a Cricket coach at first glance. About 50 years of age, he never dressed in whites. He turned up on the Cricket field in a formal full-shirt, formal trousers and dress shoes all the time. To top it, he wore a "fur cap", the kind worn by Farooq Abdulla. His face was furrowed and his eyes blurry and goat-like. His moustache was interesting- sparsely populated with long strands of hair hanging down the sides of the mouth to give him the look of a Genghis Khan!
He truly was a Genghis Khan when it came to fielding practice sessions....a real task master. The boys were lined up at the far end of the ground. Tamhane sir stood at the other end. He gently tossed the ball up with one hand. As it came down, he whacked it with such immense power...that it went like a cannon-ball in the direction of some hapless student! If the student was lucky, he caught the ball. He was luckier if he bruised his thumb and could exempt himself from this torture! In many ways, it was like being lined up before a firing squad.... you were a sitting duck. The ball came like a meteor from the skies...and a sixth-grader's gentle palm was bound to spill one of those catches. Sloppy fielding enraged Tamhane sir and he showed it. He sent more cannon balls the student's way! You simply prayed...for the session to end! Tamhane sir's intent was unquestionable. Our fielding had to improve.
And then one day, Dipak showed up. Tamhane sir took Dipak under his wing and took an instant liking for him. It was obvious that Dipak was the apple of his eye. When Dipak batted, Tamhane sir gushed with enthusiasm "tasach, tasach" ("exactly that way!", "exactly that way!" in Marathi). He was stone-faced when it came to anyone else (or so we thought!).
Though we wouldn't admit openly, Dipak was a gifted Cricketer. He had sound technique when it came to batting. He could negotiate fast bowling without flinching and pummeled the ball for fours and sixes even as a seventh-grader. He bowled off-spin. He bowled a variant of the doosra too. All this, at a time, when the doosra was unheard of. Dipak took some of the most blinding catches in school cricket tournaments.
Little wonder, Tamhane sir fawned over Dipak. Every evening, when Dipak's father came to pick up his son, Tamhane sir engaged him in animated conversation.
One day Dipak came to the ground with a new bat- it simply looked different and special. We had to know more and surrounded Dipak. "Yes, Tamhane sir bought it for me!" Dipak said. "How much did you pay?" someone asked. Dipak was a little hesitant, but said "five-hundred!" quietly. "Five hundred rupees!!!" everyone squealed! We had never heard of such a pricy bat! Everyone took turns to hold the bat and get a feel of it! "Abey is ###@ ke liye...paanch so" Anand commented...laced with choice expletives!!! Much as each one wanted to play with Dipak's bat, it was not possible. Tamhane sir was always around...and to snatch the bat from his special student, a tad dangerous! We had the firing squad fielding sessions to worry about!
Tamhane sir soon took over our lives. He got a tailor to the ground and insisted on stitching oversized uniforms which could double up for school and for Cricket. We hated it. Already Dipak was wearing trousers which were an eye-sore. They were simply too loose and flapped around like pyjamas. Dipak could do whatever he wanted to please Tamhane sir. It was getting a little suffocating for the rest of us.
Those days...we had no other dream. We breathed Cricket. We just wanted to be a Cricketer...like Gavaskar and Kapil Dev. The path was chalked out too. Score heavily in the school cricket tournaments- Giles Shield and Harris Shield, get selected for the under-15 Bombay side, from there, get selected for the Ranji trophy side and from there, you played for the country! As simple as that! We were certain Dipak would play for India just like Ravi Shastri had done from the school a few years ago.
All this would go on for a couple of years. It was a mixed bag. We won some, lost some. Dipak got his name in the papers, he failed occasionally too. Tamhane sir groomed his favorite student more...and taught him to "hit the ball on the rise" and to play "lofted shots". Dipak was a quick learner and was now the school cricket captain.
Suddenly, the bubble burst. Dipak stopped attending practice sessions regularly. He didn't score heavily any more. His attitude also changed- he appeared "grown up" and wasn't "the learner" he once was. He stopped playing for the school. Tamhane sir didn't come any more. We had no idea why he had fallen out of favor. We were in the ninth grade. Academics was suddenly important. The "board exams" would be upon us in a year's time. The Cricket bat was stashed away behind the cupboard. It was all too sudden. Our world had changed...and too soon. The dreams...remained....yes...dreams!
For every "Achrekar sir-Sachin" success story, there are hundreds of other stories no one wants to tell or hear. So many Tamhanes and so many Dipaks...who would go this far...but sadly....not beyond. These are the unsung Dronas and the unnoticed Arjunas. Their story needs to be told.
Success is rare. As someone said, to achieve the dizzy heights of success, you need to be born with a mole in a different part of your anatomy!!!!
It is now well documented how Sachin was Achrekar sir's favorite student. If Sachin got out early in one match at Azad Maidan, Achrekar sir personally took him on his bike to Cross Maidan.... to be part of another match so that Sachin could bat one more time.
My story actually begins here....... Thirty-two years ago....exactly when the above scenes were unfolding, another Drona...Tamhane "sir" was grooming another Arjuna...Dipak...much the same way.
Tamhane "sir" was Don Bosco's Cricket coach. He didn't look like a Cricket coach at first glance. About 50 years of age, he never dressed in whites. He turned up on the Cricket field in a formal full-shirt, formal trousers and dress shoes all the time. To top it, he wore a "fur cap", the kind worn by Farooq Abdulla. His face was furrowed and his eyes blurry and goat-like. His moustache was interesting- sparsely populated with long strands of hair hanging down the sides of the mouth to give him the look of a Genghis Khan!
He truly was a Genghis Khan when it came to fielding practice sessions....a real task master. The boys were lined up at the far end of the ground. Tamhane sir stood at the other end. He gently tossed the ball up with one hand. As it came down, he whacked it with such immense power...that it went like a cannon-ball in the direction of some hapless student! If the student was lucky, he caught the ball. He was luckier if he bruised his thumb and could exempt himself from this torture! In many ways, it was like being lined up before a firing squad.... you were a sitting duck. The ball came like a meteor from the skies...and a sixth-grader's gentle palm was bound to spill one of those catches. Sloppy fielding enraged Tamhane sir and he showed it. He sent more cannon balls the student's way! You simply prayed...for the session to end! Tamhane sir's intent was unquestionable. Our fielding had to improve.
And then one day, Dipak showed up. Tamhane sir took Dipak under his wing and took an instant liking for him. It was obvious that Dipak was the apple of his eye. When Dipak batted, Tamhane sir gushed with enthusiasm "tasach, tasach" ("exactly that way!", "exactly that way!" in Marathi). He was stone-faced when it came to anyone else (or so we thought!).
Though we wouldn't admit openly, Dipak was a gifted Cricketer. He had sound technique when it came to batting. He could negotiate fast bowling without flinching and pummeled the ball for fours and sixes even as a seventh-grader. He bowled off-spin. He bowled a variant of the doosra too. All this, at a time, when the doosra was unheard of. Dipak took some of the most blinding catches in school cricket tournaments.
Little wonder, Tamhane sir fawned over Dipak. Every evening, when Dipak's father came to pick up his son, Tamhane sir engaged him in animated conversation.
One day Dipak came to the ground with a new bat- it simply looked different and special. We had to know more and surrounded Dipak. "Yes, Tamhane sir bought it for me!" Dipak said. "How much did you pay?" someone asked. Dipak was a little hesitant, but said "five-hundred!" quietly. "Five hundred rupees!!!" everyone squealed! We had never heard of such a pricy bat! Everyone took turns to hold the bat and get a feel of it! "Abey is ###@ ke liye...paanch so" Anand commented...laced with choice expletives!!! Much as each one wanted to play with Dipak's bat, it was not possible. Tamhane sir was always around...and to snatch the bat from his special student, a tad dangerous! We had the firing squad fielding sessions to worry about!
Tamhane sir soon took over our lives. He got a tailor to the ground and insisted on stitching oversized uniforms which could double up for school and for Cricket. We hated it. Already Dipak was wearing trousers which were an eye-sore. They were simply too loose and flapped around like pyjamas. Dipak could do whatever he wanted to please Tamhane sir. It was getting a little suffocating for the rest of us.
Those days...we had no other dream. We breathed Cricket. We just wanted to be a Cricketer...like Gavaskar and Kapil Dev. The path was chalked out too. Score heavily in the school cricket tournaments- Giles Shield and Harris Shield, get selected for the under-15 Bombay side, from there, get selected for the Ranji trophy side and from there, you played for the country! As simple as that! We were certain Dipak would play for India just like Ravi Shastri had done from the school a few years ago.
All this would go on for a couple of years. It was a mixed bag. We won some, lost some. Dipak got his name in the papers, he failed occasionally too. Tamhane sir groomed his favorite student more...and taught him to "hit the ball on the rise" and to play "lofted shots". Dipak was a quick learner and was now the school cricket captain.
Suddenly, the bubble burst. Dipak stopped attending practice sessions regularly. He didn't score heavily any more. His attitude also changed- he appeared "grown up" and wasn't "the learner" he once was. He stopped playing for the school. Tamhane sir didn't come any more. We had no idea why he had fallen out of favor. We were in the ninth grade. Academics was suddenly important. The "board exams" would be upon us in a year's time. The Cricket bat was stashed away behind the cupboard. It was all too sudden. Our world had changed...and too soon. The dreams...remained....yes...dreams!
For every "Achrekar sir-Sachin" success story, there are hundreds of other stories no one wants to tell or hear. So many Tamhanes and so many Dipaks...who would go this far...but sadly....not beyond. These are the unsung Dronas and the unnoticed Arjunas. Their story needs to be told.
Success is rare. As someone said, to achieve the dizzy heights of success, you need to be born with a mole in a different part of your anatomy!!!!
